I’m a selfish girlfriend.
I made my boyfriend promise to put-off seeing The Dark Knight until I was back in town.
He’s a great boyfriend.
He didn’t go to the midnight premier with his friends, the IMAX show or the Alamo Drafthouse cave trip.
To me, Christian Bale as Batman is one of the greatest casting choices ever made. I know I should be considering the merits of Heath Ledger and his last role, however I’d like to focus elsewhere.
As a dedicated Bret Easton Ellis fan, I’ve watched American Psycho numerous times (I have only read the book once, but I blame that on my heightened self-awareness caused by the stares I got while reading it). Seeing Christian Bale in nearly the same attire (minus the Oliver Peoples glasses) during Batman trailers has made me consider the parallels of these roles.
Patrick Bateman and Bruce Wayne/Batman are similar characters. Each has a huge burden weighing them down in their evening (or perhaps dreaming) life. However, Patrick Bateman is essentially Batman’s Foil — the type of character he would fight against.
Imagine Bateman’s DC Comics villainification. Perhaps he would be named “The Renter,” and would injure civilians with the help of his business-card-carrying paper-cut-inflicting band of Wall Street moguls. Of course, eventually he’d be joined by his younger brother, Sean Bateman, who would be in town while summering during his second year at Camden. Sean, would have a similar origin story based in parental neglect due to overwhelming wealth and responsibilities — but unlike Patrick, he would likely have suffered horrifying mutilations caused by a liquor and fire explosion at The End of the World Party.
The problem with my fantasy (graphic) novel is the ambiguity with which I understand Mr. Ellis to have assigned his characters. Did Patrick Bateman actually commit the horrendous crimes described, or were they all dreams and/or fantasies? How can Batman fight against something which may not have happened? And would Christian Bale play both Batman and Bateman when the story was adopted for screen?
One of the reasons I admire Ellis’ work is the uncertainty he leaves for his reader’s. There’s little reason to reveal the truth at the end of a story — isn’t that lack of closure what keeps us so interested in the people we idolize, or even those we occasionally wonder about? It helps keep his characters alive in our minds so that maybe, through the integrated world Ellis has created, we can keep up with the terror-filled lives of old friends.
Which is precisely why I maintain my interest in Batman.
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